


Natasha Romanoff Black Widow x Reader: Grounding

by Persephonie_Muses



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Black Widow Marvel, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Maybe Nat is a little OC, PTSD, The hulk is dangerous, XReader, but this is a fanfic so it's already an AU--technically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-29 07:33:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15724836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persephonie_Muses/pseuds/Persephonie_Muses
Summary: The Avengers are out on a mission and Black Widow is teamed up with Hulk being she usually helps him control his anger- much to your distaste. During the mission Banner struggles to reign in his green brute and attacks Natasha...you've never seen her this shaken up and you realize you're the only one who can calm her down.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So, some of you might know this story from FF.net. I’m getting more serious about my writing commissions, so I’ve decided to branch to different sites, and re-upload my older stories on said sites.
> 
> PM me for Commission Specifics
> 
> If you're unfamiliar with this layout:
> 
> (y/n)- your name
> 
> (e/c)- eye color
> 
> RRC and ENJOY!

You could hear the loud crashing and grunts coming from the comm in your ear.

"Guys! What's going on?" You yell looking towards where you would guess the commotion was coming from. The building was obviously being destroyed if the smoke emanating from it was any consideration.

"It's Banner." You hear Tony's flat voice and your chest begins to tighten. Natasha was supposed to be with Bruce for this mission.

"Romanoff?" You inquire, trying to keep your voice steady, but your question was met by silence. "Is Nat still with Banner?" You demand and your eyes widen when a small explosion erupts from the building. You feel your feet began to move on their own accord taking a few steps towards the building. Suddenly, Captain America runs up next to you with a pale face. You stop and turn to him fully, still waiting for an answer.

"She's still with him- (y/n)!" You hear Steve yell from behind you, but you're already running to the building. Being the fastest sprinter--borderlining superhuman-- in the group, you had left Steve way behind you as you entered through a large hole on the side of the structure. Your breaths were deep and fast as you scanned the interior. Everything was destroyed; sparks and the smell of burning electrical units filled the air. Broken pieces of pipe and glass littered the floor, wires and tubes hung from every which way.

Your eyes finally landed on a large footprint on the ground. You placed your hand on it and shook your head. _Dammit Banner..._ you mumble under your breath.

You specifically made your opinion of opposition known when Natasha volunteered to be Bruce's partner. He's a great guy and one of your closer friends, but if he couldn't fully control his Hulk then he shouldn't be put on missions, but Fury had ignored both yours and Bruce's objections and assigned him to it anyway.

Your head snaps up when you hear a blood-curdling roar just ahead of you. Your breathing becomes shallow as you move forward and you try to take deeper breaths and steady yourself but you've already grown too worrisome. You needed to find Natasha.

Your slow, cautious, steps escalate to a full on sprint when you hear a yelp of pain followed by a groan. The voice unmistakably belonged to Natasha and you began to panic as you clumsily dodge the broken interior around you.

"Nat-" you cut yourself off upon hearing a loud crash that stopped you dead in your tracks, you ran to the source and saw Hulk leaping away through the gaping hole in the side of the building. You watched for a few seconds until you heard a small groan of pain behind you. Your head twisted around so quickly that you were sure you would have whiplash from the movement. You caught sight of her red hair flared out on the metal ground. "Natasha," you breath out before you suddenly find it hard to breathe again.

You run to her side, taking the redhead into your arms- she was unconscious. Noting the red crimson that dripped from a gash on her head, you hurriedly try to lift her up, but a large beam of metal pinned her to the ground. Judging by the size of it, you knew you wouldn't be able to lift it yourself.

"Shit," you whisper. "Nat?" you try, taking her cheek into her hand. "Nat, come on wake up," you whisper but she wasn't responding. Your heart began to beat faster again. Suddenly Hawkeye and Cap show up and only stare as you attempt to wake the girl in your arms- your voice getting more demanding the more worried you became. "Natalia Alienovna Romanova, I swear to Kronos if you don't wake up!" You finally lift your head to look at the two blonde men who stood in shock. "Dammit Clint, Steve, get this off of her!" You demand and the two men quickly respond. When the beam is finally lifted, Tony shows up and lands next to you.

"The Quinjet's gonna be here soon..." He pauses and you knew that he was scanning her. "She's going to be okay, (y/n)."

****

Brilliant green eyes flutter open. The first thing Natasha sees is you sleeping in a chair next to her. She snaps up when she remembers the event of yesterday. You snap awake at the sudden movement, and you lock eyes with beautiful green orbs you've been dying to see since the... _accident._

"Guys!" You call over your shoulder. "Clint! She's awake!" You turn back to face her, a large smile of relief on our face. A few minutes later, the room is filled with the Avengers. You eye Bruce as he slowly creeps into the room, his head hung low. Your relief is replaced with worry when you noticed the panic-stricken look in Natasha's eyes as she sees Bruce. You can hear her shaky breaths as her eyes widen.

"Nat?" You whisper, reaching your hand towards her. She jumps at the contact and you retract your hand quickly. She looks at you, but you know that she's not actually looking at you. Her shaky hand flies to her chest as her face contorts in pain, and you notice that she's sweating profusely. She almost looks like she's about to throw up. "Nat! What's wrong?"

"She's having a panic attack," Tony speaks, his voice tight and laced with worry. You frown deeply as thoughts race across your mind.

"Out," you command all while glaring a Banner. Your harsh tone causing the people around you to look at each other confused.

"What? Why-"

"Clint, get them out," you order, hoping he understood. He simply nods and in less than a couple of seconds, you and Natasha are left alone. You take a couple breaths and realize Natasha's panic attack wasn't fading.

"Natasha? Natasha, listen to me, okay?" You whisper, trying to make your voice sound as soothing as you could. Her eyes are staring straight ahead as her body shakes. "Natasha!" You say, this time, effectively gaining her attention. The fear in her eyes was almost heart-breaking. It threw you to see the powerful, strong Black Widow so shaken by an experience. You cursed Bruce and his brute form under your breath as your face softened, not finding it in yourself to be angry anymore. You just needed to focus on helping Nat. When you didn't speak, she returned her attention to the floor. You cautiously reached your hand out and place it on her shoulder, "It's me, Nat. It's (y/n) and you're safe now, okay? You're safe."

The redhead slowly turned to face you again, her green eyes piercing deeply into your own (e/c). She throws herself into your arms, shocking you beyond all comprehension.

"(Y/n)..." She mumbled against your chest, her voice muffled by your jacket. You nod slowly, realizing you've fully gotten her attention- or at least most of it. She was still shaking and her jaw was tight. You frowned and thought back to something you had learned a couple years ago: Grounding.

"Nat, I'm going to get you through this okay?" She nods slowly, her watering eyes reminding you of a vast green sea. "Okay," you whisper. "Nat...find five things you see..." You enunciate slowly making sure she understood every word. She frowned, shaking her head in confusion. "Trust me, okay? Find five things you see, and tell me what they are."

She swallowed hard as she slowly lifted her head to look around the room. You notice her eyes glance behind you towards the large floor-to-ceiling windows of her room.

"I...I...," she paused closing her eyes. "I see...the statue..." She lets out another shaky breath. "...outside the window."

You look over your shoulder at the Statue of Liberty and you nod, encouraging her to continue. Her voice was low and hoarse. Every word she said, shaky. She noticeably stopped sweating when she named the 4th item. Her eyes, for the first time in the past couple of minutes, meet your own. "...and I see you- sitting in from of me." You nod again a small smile gracing your lips and take a deep breath.

"Okay, good. Now...four things you can feel?" You instruct and Natasha looks at you oddly. "The mattress beneath you, the softness of the sheets," you say as examples and Natasha nods. You notice how she has begun to regain the color in her face.

"I feel-" Natasha jumps noticeably when you hear what sounds like a mini explosion some ways down the hall followed by Tony's loud growl of frustration. A new project probably blowing up in his face. You frown at the unwanted noise and you turn back to see Natasha looking frighteningly at the door. You nod your head trying to dispel any of her egregious thoughts.

"You're doing perfect," you whisper as you cup her cheek softly. You feel the tightness of her jaw relax as she nods. Natasha brings her slender hand up to cover yours. Her breathing was still labored as she spoke. "You feel..." you whisper, trying to coax her into continuing. She nods her head slowly as she drags her eyes back to your own.

"I feel..." she begins after taking a deep breath. "...your hand on my cheek." There's another explosion and Nat find refuge in your comforting embrace. She leans into you more before speaking- her voice is trembling again."...your arms around me," she whispers into your shoulder. "I feel...your warmth." She looks at you as she names the last two things and you feel your heart thump in your chest. You nod slowly once more. Walking her through three things you hear, and two things you can smell, you finally reach the last thing. You smile when you realized that Nat has calmed down completely. She was still a little shaken and maybe a little embarrassed by her emotional response to the experience. You could care less though and simply let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, (y/n)," she whispers. She pulls back from the embrace you had grown accustomed to due to the past couple of minutes.

"Of course," you respond, pushing a lock of red hair behind her ear. "You know I'll always be here for you, Nat..." You offer a small shy smile, which she returns gratefully. "Are you really okay now?" Your (e/c) eyes are still showing an immense amount of worry. The redhead takes a second to respond but simply offers you another smile and nods 'yes'.

"Thank you," she whispers. You give a quick nod, but you note the hint of raspiness that laces itself through her voice.

You stay with Natasha for the rest of the day just simply talking...and cuddling. After you realize she's back to her usual slightly flirtatious self, you find yourself beginning to blush whenever she sends a compliment or dazzling smile your way. You had been crushing on Natasha Romanoff since you first became part of the Avengers team. She was a perfect mixture of Kind, Mysterious, Kick-ass and Deadly, all stuffed into a 5 foot 3, curvacious frame. Whenever you guys would talk, you find yourself getting lost in her eyes that, under specific lighting conditions, would go from Sea green to Grey, or sometimes to a "cornblue". (Turns out that's an eye color, and it fit Nat's eyes sometimes). It seemed like no one was able to touch her, and you believed yourself to be the same. So, you settled on just being friends- that was good enough for you. But, now, you were holding her in your arms as you both spoke in a fairly intimate tone, and it was giving you a little hope.

After a few more hours, you notice Nat attempt to suppress a yawn.

"You're sleepy," you say as you turn to get up, but when you begin to unravel your body from hers, you feel her gently pull at your wrist, effectively stopping you from standing on your feet. You look down at her, surprised by her sudden movement. "Umm-" you stutter out "Nat, you should get some sleep..." Throughout the day, you couldn't help but keep an eye on the rectangle bandage that dressed the wound on her forehead. You felt a small frown begin to form as you thought about it, your eyes flickering back up to her bandage.

"Please," she asks you in a small voice and you can't help but focus on her brilliant green oceans. There were so many emotions placed behind a small screen. Her eyes held a begging look. _Maybe I should stay- to keep an eye on her, of course. Also, because she really seems to want me too..._ you think. And if you were honest with yourself, you really wanted to stay too. You let out a small breath you didn't even realize you were holding and simply nodded with a small smile. The redhead returned the smile, and you allowed her to pull you back onto the bed. You both shuffled around until her back was pressed into your front and your arms wrapped around her.

By the pattern of her breathing, you realized that she had fallen asleep. You looked down at the crown of her head. _This is crazy..._ you thought. She really wanted you to stay, but up until now, you guys had never spent more than a few hours with each other, and even then it was due to a mission. Therefore, you concluded the day's events as "crazy". You chalked up her sudden "cuddliness" to the fact that she had suffered a minor concussion and was a little out of it now. That, and the fact that you walked her through a pretty bad panic attack. You sighed, silently wishing that maybe, just maybe, there was something more behind her actions.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a couple days after the incident and you noticed Natasha becoming a little more like herself. That is...until she asked you out. And now, here you are. On your way to the top of Stark Tower where she said to meet. Your palms are sweaty, and you keep checking you hair in the reflective glass of the elevator.

"Take a deep breath, (Y/n)," you whisper to yourself just as you make your way onto the platform. She was turned away from you- luscious red hair blowing in the wind as she leaned against a pillar. This really was crazy. How the hell did you get here?

** 4 hours Earlier **

You were walking down the hallway of S.H.I.E.L.D when you heard someone running up behind you. You turned around quickly and was surprised to see bright green eyes staring back at you.

"Nat!" You exclaimed. "Hey-" you're cut off when the shorter woman pulls you into a tight hug. Surprised by the sudden embrace, you simply return it. The two of you finally pull back and Natasha hands you your favorite drink, a large smile on her face. You took it gratefully, not even realizing that she had been holding it when you guys hugged. "Wow! Thanks!" You exclaimed taking a sip of the cup of heaven that you were now cradling in your hands. "What's this for?" You asked, though you could only guess it was for the other day.

"Consider it a trade," she said, a confident smile on her face as she motioned for you to walk with her.

"A trade?" You echoed cocking your brow as she watched her face carefully.

"Yup," she replied, popping the 'p' loudly. You furrowed your brows stopping to turn to her fully.

"A trade for what?" You inquire.

"Just an answer," she replied shortly, sending you a quick wink and beginning to walk again- her hair shielding her face from your view. You stood confused for a second, watching her as she walked away before quickly catching up to her. Why in the world was she being so vague?

"An answer for what?" You probed.

"For the question I'm about to ask you," she said simply.

"Oh come on, Nat!" You said exasperatedly as you rolled your eyes playfully as you grabbed her elbow, effectively stopping her from walking. You looked at her and decades of profiling told you that she was nervous. "Nat, what's going o-"

"Will you go to dinner with me?" She asked as she began to worry her thick bottom lip. You stood shocked.

"Like a date?" You found yourself asking, to which the red head in front of you simply nodded. The famed Black Widow, the _Gorgeously Untouchable Natasha Romanoff_   has asked you out on a date? You blinked a couple of times and you noticed she began to fidget slightly, though you could tell she was trying hard to keep her usually confident face from looking too nervous.

"Well?" She asked again. Her green eyes searching your own (e/c) orbs. Her voice knocked you out of your thoughts.

"Y-yeah! Of course! I would love to," you responded and you could feel your face burning at your little display of silence. Nat seemed to have relaxed at your answer, her usual smirk finding its way on her graceful features once more.

"I'm glad to hear that," she said, her smile growing. "Meet me on top of Stark Tower at 7:00 pm," she told you as she began to turn away from you, ready to be on her way. "Wear something nice," she instructed, sending you another wink and one hell of a gorgeous smile before walking away towards her office. You stood in shock a couple minutes after she left before looking at your watch. You had exactly four hours and thirty seven minutes to find something to wear to your date. You smiled at that thought. You had a date with Natasha Romanoff.

** End Flashback **

The building top is decorated with stringed bulbs that light up the white cloth covered table in its center. On top of the table is a nice looking pasta dish and next to it sits an opened bottle of dark wine. The entire set up was immensely romantic and rather intimate. But who were you to complain. You begin to slowly make your way towards your date, butterflies tangent in your stomach.

"I assumed you weren't afraid of heights," she says to you over her shoulder before chuckling lightly. "I only just now realized you weren't ever on a mission that required us to be high off the ground." She turns around to face you, a dazzling smile on her face. She wore a a tight black dress with draping sheer sleeves and a low v-line that showed off an ample amount of her breast. "I hope you don't mind them," she finishes a smile reaching her lips as she notices you staring. "Heights I mean," she adds playfully.

"Oh, no no. I don't mind them," you say rather quickly, a small blush making its way to your (s/c) cheeks. Even if you did have a fear of heights, being an Avenger, you had to quickly discard your acrophobia. Natasha simply smiles at that and you both take your seat. She pours you both a decent amount of wine before settling down.

"You- you're beautiful tonight," you compliment. "Not that you're not always beautiful- cause you are-" You cut yourself off and shake your head at your little stumble of words. The red head in front of you simply chuckles, the smallest blush on her face as she picks up her fork.

"Thank you, (y/n). You look pretty gorgeous yourself," she responds twirling the pasta around her fork. Blushing at the returned compliment, you follow suit mumbling a nervous 'thank you'.

You take note that the food is still hot, almost as if it was just prepared. Taking a bite, you close your eyes and savor the taste. The pasta was simply delectable. When you reopen your (e/c) orbs you notice Natasha looking at you with an attentive gaze. A quick flash of confusion runs over your face, but then it hits you. Your eyes widen, looking back down at your food then looking back up at silently asking pools of green.

"Did you make this?" You ask, a sense of surprise evident in your voice. " _Holy-_ I thought you hired a gourmet chef to cook this or something. This is amazing! I didn't even know you could cook," you say taking a second eager bite. Natasha seems to relax at your praise and begins to eat herself.

"Gotta do something when we're not saving the world," she replies with a self-satisfied smirk. "Why not learn how to cook?" You feel a small smile pull at the corners of your mouth. "Speaking of what we're doing when we're not saving the world, what do you do to know my full name?" She teased, a perfect eyebrow arched playfully. Your cheeks redden slightly before you respond.

"Oh um..." You cough a couple of times. "I-uh. It was before you were a part of the Avengers. Fury had me do a background check," you explain, scratching your cheek lightly. "I didn't realize that you were conscious..." You add almost inaudibly.

"But my _full_ birth name?" She laughs. "I don't think I've ever been called that. I'd only ever read it once--when I was a kid." A small cloud of darkness settles over her face before she shakes it off with a smile. "You probably had to do a lot of digging for that one. No wonder Fury always turns to you for Intel gathering," she compliments, sending you a dazzling smile--one that you easily return. A few more minutes of content silence settles over the two of you before your date speaks again.

"I wanted to thank you for what you did the other day. What you said," Nat says in a low voice. Her eyes not leaving her plate as she forks her food around. You were chewing so you weren't able to reply right away. "Did you mean it?" She asks, taking your silence as a sign to keep talking. "About how you'll always be here for me?"

You could sense the vulnerability as it seeped into her words. Quickly swallowing your pasta, you respond with a sense of urgency.

"Of course!" You respond louder than you intended. Your quick response made Natasha clink her fork against her plate, looking up at you with slightly startled green orbs. "Of course I meant what I said," you say in a lower voice, your eyes tugging away from Natasha's deep depths and back to your food. Staring into Nat's meaningful eyes that were usually well shielded stirred around your feels, so it was an easier task to just look at your plate. After another few moments of silence, a couple of thoughts fueled by your own insecurities wormed their way into your head. _Maybe she had just invited you out as a way of thanks..._

"I can barely count on my hand how many people voluntarily stick around," she scoffs out bitterly, pulling you out of your thoughts. You knew of the famous Black Widow's rather sketchy track record and you couldn't lie and say yours was any better. You both had dark pasts and, for some people, that was hard to look past.

"I can't even imagine my life without you." Your eyes widen slightly, realizing you were now wearing your heart on your sleeve. The look on Nat's face was worth your own two seconds of embarrassment, but there was still a melancholy in her eyes so you continued, swallowing your insecurities. "You're the most amazing person I've ever kno-" You're cut off when Nat scoffs and a flash of pain flickers across her features as she picks up her glass of wine.

"It's true," you continue in earnest. "You're confident and smart..." You pause, a smile on your face- gentle and small. "You're absolutely kickass and can easily hold your own with the guys and you're an amazing strategist," you pause again, not sure if you want to continue, but you were already this far.

"You're honest , loyal, kind and caring and...when you smile...like,  _really_ _smile._..you're _so damn beautiful._ You're perfect." You shrug, a look of finality set on your features. The edges of her eyes glisten like a perfectly still, green pool under the hanging lights. You worry for second that you've upset her somehow, but she speaks a few moments later.

"I'm not perfect," she says with a shake of her head as she lifts up her fork again. "I have my...flaws. My faults-"

"And that's what makes you perfect. Perfect to me," you say as you place a hand over her resting hand, and you begin to stroke the soft skin there. You watch as the red head noticeably relaxes under your small touch and you can't help the warmth that spreads throughout your chest as she intertwines your fingers. "Now," you say sitting up straighter, a challenging look in your eyes. "It's your turn."

"My turn?" Nat echoes, pointing her fork towards her chest. "For what?" She asks amusement in her voice.

"An answer," you say coolly as you grab your untouched wine. Natasha narrows her piercing green eyes as she smiles.

"Okay," she finally says with a smooth chuckle. You bite at your bottom lip softly, noticing your date watch you with curiosity.

"Why did you really ask me out tonight?" You ask, using your mock bravado to push out the question that had lingered on your lips since 4 hours earlier. "Was it because of what I did for you the other day?" Truthfully, you were scared at what her answer may be. What if that's the only reason? What if this was a 'thank you' date and you had utterly misinterpreted everything- the table set up, the lights, the romantic view of the city- as signs of her romantic feelings for you? Then a thought hits you. Nothing Natasha has done up to this point could easily been interpreted as romantic or non-platonic in any way. You suddenly you wish that you never would have opened your mouth. That is until Nat had looked at you like you had grew a third eye.

"Seriously?" She asks you incredulously. "From the moment I first saw you, I thought that you were beautiful. Then I got to know you and realized that you're pretty amazing. There's been so many other times before this that I've wanted to ask you out to dinner with me, but you never showed interest in me particularly so..." She trails off, her smug smile turning into an almost shy smile. "Until a couple days ago when you were with me." Her smile turns to one of fondness and you look up the meet her warm eyes. "When you just lied there with me, your arms wrapped around me, helping me calm down, helping me sleep, keeping me from falling apart again."

Nat looked down, her voice becoming shaky. "When Bruce- _the Hulk_ -" She corrects as she looks up at you again. You notice her eyes begin to water and you instinctively make your way around the table to where she's sitting. She grips your hand tighter for support. "When he left, right before I blacked out, the only think I could think about was you. Your smile, your laugh, your silly jokes, or how you stutter when you get nervous," she smiles at you. "All I could think about was 'What if I never get to show (y/n) how much I love her?'"

You feel your heart beat pick up in your chest, its steady taboo pounding in your ears. Did you hear that right. She said 'love', hadn't she? The look on her face told you your ears had heard her correctly. She quickly looks away, not able to be your eyes. Your mouth opens and closes and you finally understand the term "like a fish".

You know you have to say something, but you cannot for the life of you, get any words to come out. So, without too much thought, you throw yourself into her arms, enveloping her in a crushing hug. You pull back far enough to be able to look into her wide green eyes. You know you have to do something; bravado fueling your movements. You lean in slowly, suddenly getting nervous, but before you could push forward any closer, Natasha closes the gap.

Your breath hitches in your throat as you feel her soft luscious lips move across your own. The kiss itself was simple, but you find every sense of your being overwhelmed by it as it progresses. You can smell her sweet floral perfume- one you had never noticed her use before. Had she put on this specifically for this date? For you? Well, either way, it smells delightful and you feel her hands creeping up your back before finally resting her slender fingers at the nape of your neck. You almost swoon when the kiss deepens and is left slightly disappointment when you both have to pull back for air.

You're panting slightly as you press your forehead against hers- so close to her face that the two of you are sharing the air between you. You can't think of a single thing you can say that won't sound cheesy, so with a wide smile you nuzzle close to her. You hear her heart thundering quickly in her chest, her breaths shaky and something hits you. You sit back up, a challenging look in your eyes, a new-found air of confidence surrounding you. Natasha regards you curiously as she arches a brow, a grin tugging at her lips. You lean forward, your mouths impossibly close but not yet touching. You were going to finish what you started.

"Nat," you pause, very lightly brushing your lips against hers. "Name one thing you taste."

** Fin **


End file.
